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My Paintings

Separation was painted more than a decade back, when I chanced upon a photograph of war-torn people on the internet. Deeply disturbing and moving, this photo remained in my heart for a very long time.

And when I set out to paint, this embrace formed on the canvas. Was it the mother or the angel… who knows. The pain was building up while the brush moved effortlessly. It was painful, not cathartic.

It was difficult to imagine separation of loved ones, of losing loved ones, of the spoils of wars, of leaving children to fate, of becoming an orphan….

Millions of children around the world have been orphaned for no fault of theirs. If losing loved ones was not enough, they even lost their identity, home, warmth, security, love, and the arms that they could always run to.

Wars killed. Widows remained. Children were orphaned.
We then make peace with our conscience by quoting destiny, fate and higher reason.

Why call it their fate when it is the very ordain we write?
Why call it their destiny when we are the ones who make war?
Why call it higher reason wherein could not rise above ourselves?

To paint the life of someone else is to live their life for those moments. And to paint the living soul in pain is devastating. You cannot express. It is felt within. You become one. The painting wraps you around itself – even when you are done.

You cannot cry because it is not enough.

Here is an expression I waited for… from a beautiful soul poet – Ansul Nooreen Khan. There is not a soul who is not moved by her verses. Here is her Ode to the Orphan. It never fails to move me to tears. I cannot find anything better than this ever and probably never will. There is unbelievable amount of hope and faith midst despair. How can it not move you?

“Blue color is everlastingly appointed by the Deity to be a source of delight”
John Ruskin

Blended Blues – Oil on Canvas – 12″x24″

Blended blues are a part of every artist’s repertoire. Almost all the artists I have met and seen their works have a blended blues in their collection. And why not? These gradients are so beautiful and easy on the eye that it is hard for most artists refuse to part with thier primary creations. Blue compositions are taught to budding artists to best understand perspective. I never quite understood that until I met a painter, many years back, who showed me his lessons in art. They were blue – in many shades possible and the gradient did give the composition some depth and perspective. Hmmm, I kind of learnt my lesson then.

It may look down right easy to blend in different shades of blues, but the painter alone knows how those shades and hues surfaced on the canvas, amongst the million options to chose from. The color of the skies, seas, sadness, twilight and more, there is no person on Earth who does not like a shade or two – of blue.

“Of all the colours, blue and green have the greatest emotional range. Sad reds and melancholy yellows are difficult to turn up.”
William H Gass

Blended blues was made recently as a respite from the fiery artworks that were coming out more often. A calming sight, as it dried, this painting stood at the same spot for many days. A soothing rectangle to look at when nothing seemed to work.

Again, the photo is not a true representation of the painting as it does not show the actual strokes and colors. The Blues include Prussian, Cerulean hue, Cobalt and a hint of Turquoise, on a white base. Blended from shallow to deep and from darkness to light, these blues but will always be close to my heart. They now hang on a blue-lover’s wall.

October seems to be a happening month for artists. Mann Ke Teen Rang was the artists showcase event wherein 21 artists from different states and genre, participated. Since a group event always holds the promise of veiwing varied artworks, we got to see a good blend of paintings by seasoned and budding artists. The group exhibition is on from 13th – 22nd October 2010, at the State Gallery of Fine Arts, Hyderabad.

Artworks of 21 Artists at the State Gallery of Fine Arts

The best part of the gallery building is that there are many halls where exhibitions go on simultaneously, and we get to see more artwork than expected. Its these surprises that make your day more interesting.

Most of the paintings belonged to budding artists. Amongst the many, I liked the finesse of A.Hari Kumar’s works in his use of Charcoal. Laxman and Mahebub’s landscapes had a bit of eerie-ness that I liked.

Here are two simple yet striking paintings by Ratna De, an artist who specialises in water color media. Some of her best works range from geologic rocks, hands, Jesus Christ, to architectural sketches.

Artwork in Watercolors by Ratna De

There is a lot to see in the gallery, apart from the on-going exhibitions. If you really want to see more works, the friendly staff at the gallery take you around to more halls, where a lot of artwork is kept as collections.

The Chitramayee State Gallery of Fine Arts, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, is hosting its periodic group exhibition for artists from 13th – 24th October 2010, called Mann Ke Teen Rang. I am participating with few of my works this time. This would be a great opportunity for artists and art lovers to come together under one roof, for there will be a variety of artworks by a large pool of artists. These 10 days of art exhibits, viewing others works, getting inspiredd, and a lot more, should be exciting.

I chose this painting as rocks are an integral part of the the Hyderabadi landscape. For those who are in love with rocks, gigantic boulders, and natural geologic rock formations, Hyderabad is the place to come and see them in their natural splendour (before they vanish, thanks to the ruthless devastation under the guise of urban development). Having grown up midst the rocks, it is but natural to bring them in my abstracts. The bonus being the fact that the State Art Gallery itself is nestled among and above these natural rocks formations. If not for the artworks, you can still view the building edifice.

cleansed by fire
healed in faith
will rise from the ashes
many Sacred Trees.

tender leaves will uncurl
many flowers will bloom
life will soon unfold
midst this dead gloom

Sacred Tree – 12″ x 36″ – Two Canvas Panels Diptych

This painting is done on two separate canvas panels in oil media. I was thinking of doing this since a long time as I get wasted if I dont paint trees. The trees somehow make themselves appear somewhere in my paintings.

The photograph of the painting makes it look a lot different than what it is, and thats the limitation we have learnt to live with. The canvases can be hung together or separately – it would still convey the whole picture. I would like to see these in a corner of the room where two walls meet.